I made a salad today. There was spinach and soy chicken and sprinkles of cheese and bread crumbs. It was decent, but I realized I don't have much of a palette when it comes to salads. When dining, I can't ask for much beyond leaves on a plate if the menu doesn't deal in specifics. There are a lot of reasons for this, but the gist of it now is that I'm now looking to becoming a herbivorous snob.. or at least someone who knows what they're talking about. Do you guys have cookbook titles? Trade secrets? What are some damn good salads to make and order?
All my favorite salads feature non-vegetable ingredients. Based on the "soy chicken", that's probably not what you're after. But here's my list: Salade Nicoise Salade Lyonnaise (with hot ham and a runny yolk, natch) Yum Nuer (Thai spicy lime marinated beef and greens) Cobb Salad
-baby spinach -sliced chilli marinated beet root -sunflower seeds -pumpkin seeds -alfalfa sprouts -walnuts -cherry tomatoes and balsamic dijon dressing yummy
There are a few vegetarians and vegans on here, but I'm not a salad fan unless its Cole Slaw or Potato Salad. When I do eat the green ones its with something like soy chicken or fried tofu, I usually make enough for a wrap later There are busloads of sites though for it
Use the vegetables that you like. My salad is: spinach, red bell peppers, carrots, cilantro, mixed seeds n nuts. I might add tuna or chicken and often some grilled onions, garlic, and seranos. Sauce? If your new stick with a vinegrette, blue cheese, ranch etc. Adjust. I might just use lemon and soy or salsa as a dressing. Spice: I usually throw on red pepper flacks and musterd seeds.
If you mix 1 part grape seed oil 1 part extra virgin olive oil 1 part Bragg's unfiltered apple cider vinegar a dash of lemon juice a dash of good honey some fresh grated ginger root and fresh cracked black pepper and sea salt together and use it as yr house dressing any combination of raw veggies you put together in a bowl will taste awesome.
Quick & easy unusual pairing of ingredients: + mixed greens or baby spinach + chopped pecans/walnuts, or sliced almonds + tomato wedges/diced: heirloom, grape, cherry - much more "pop" to them than regular tomatoes + + in replacement of / addition to tomato, you can also throw in diced fresh strawberry or peach! + if skipping dressing (I fucking despise salad dressing) and going plain or citrus'd - feel free to add some diced avocado (refrigerate before dicing, it'll hold it's shape) A friend of ours (redhanded's brother) DIY pickles cucumbers & onions - both of which make an EXCELLENT addition to pretty much any salad. If going for pickled onions, try for either a sweet or spicy brine solution. You can obviously add any type of protein you want to this, we just keep ours all veggie & fruit. Also, if you wanna keep it tasty and super low cal, you should try replacing salad dressings and oils with a citrus - your choice of lemon, lime, or orange (be sure to roll it around on a cutting board applying pressure first, to make it easier to juice). Add the juice to your greens before the remainder of ingredients, and toss/mix to evenly coat (hand mixing works best). This will add some nice flavor & aroma, while also ensuring that your smaller ingredients stick to the leaves well. Add the remainder of your ingredients & top the whole thing off with some fresh cracked salt & pepper - done.
Here's a blog a friend of mine started off a while ago. Dunno if they're any good as I'm not really into salads but I think you might find something interesting here... http://saladpride.blogspot.com/
This is a little different but I love to make this with my famous steaks. 2 small or one large bag of Broccoli florets 3/4 cup mayonaise 1/8 cup sugar 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon minced shallot 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 teaspoon tangerine zest (can sub any citrus zest) bag of sweetened dried cranberries small bakers bag of slivered almonds Trim the florets into bite size pieces (I save any huge chunks of stem to make soup) mix up the mayo, oil, vinegar and sugar add and mix the other ingredients minus the nuts and craisins toast almonds in oven till aromatic add craisins and almonds to you florets until you have a ratio you like add sauce to your liking (I like it a bit lighter so I often have just a bit left over that I use for veggie dipping) mix well and let chill in the fridge for 2-4 hours for the flavors to marry sometimes I add a small pinch of ground clove or a small amount of roasted garlic to the sauce
